An Unbearable Choice
by MagicalSkeletonPersonOfAwesome
Summary: Pyrrha finds herself with a terrible choice to make and she turns to her best friend for help. One shot set after Episode 6 of Volume 3.


**This is a one-shot set after Episode 6 of Volume 3. If you haven't seen it yet I would advise you to do so as it will give this fic more context. If you still choose not to see the episode, all you need to know is that this is a story about how Pyrrha has a terrible choice to make and she turns to her best friend for help. Expect teen angst and romance on the side. And before I forget...**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or any of it's characters. They belong to Rooster Teeth and the production team behind the show.**

 **DPS (Disclaimer Post Scriptum) Also before we begin, let's have a moment of silence for Monty Oum. You will be missed.**

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"I advise you to take some time to think about your decision. Just know that before the Vytal Festival is over we will need your answer" Those were Ozpin's last words to Pyrrha before she was given permission to leave. Now she walked through the halls of Beacon, pondering her choices. She had a terribly complicated decision to make. She could refuse Ozpin's offer to become the new Fall Maiden, but that could mean the end of mankind if the power traveled to the one who attacked the current Fall Maiden. Or she could choose to take on this challenge and possibly die in the Power Transfer Procedure General Ironwood had created.

She was a mostly logical person and logically speaking there was no choice to be made. Mankind is more than worth her life. One soul does not outweigh millions. However, she was still human. And like any human, she feared for herself. She feared death. And most of all, she feared the loneliness that it brings. Courage can only carry you so far and although she had been in many situations where her life was at stake, she always had backup. Some sort of assurance that if she failed, she would not be alone in her final moments.

This was a complicated choice indeed. One she could not make lightly. She was sworn to secrecy by the group she had met with on the matter, but how was she supposed to make this decision alone? It's too big for anyone to decide on. The stakes too high for just one mind to think on. She wanted to break the rules just this once and talk to someone about it. Someone she could trust. Someone who would support her on this terrible privilege she was given.

"Pyrrha? You okay? I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Jaune..."

"Yes it's me. Is everything alright? I was worried about you. Where have you been?" Jaune could certainly help in this situation. Even if their partnership was somewhat complicated (thanks to some growing feelings ever since it's establishment), Jaune had a good heart. He would know what to do. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"Jaune. I need to talk to you. Alone."

"Okay, sure but can you please tell me if you're alright?" She grabbed him by his hand and took him up to the rooftop where they trained, telling him that she was the opposite of alright. Once they reached the top of the stairs Jaune spoke again.

"Pyrrha, you're kind of scaring me. What's wrong?" Pyrrha thought about how she could start to explain this situation and her headmaster's words came to mind.

"Jaune, what is your favorite fairy tale?"

"Excuse me?"

"Fairy tales. What is your favorite?"

"Huh, I haven't really given it much tought. What do fairy tales have to do with your problem?"

"Do you know the one about the Seasons?"

"Yeah, of course. Everyone knows that. The four sisters who helped a man and got powers. They each represent a season."

"What if I told you it was true?" Jaune narrowed his eyes at the question, wondering where Pyrrha was going with this talk.

"I would say I don't believe you."

"What if I told you I saw the Fall Sister before I ran into you?"

"Pyrrha where are you going with this? What's going on? You're not making any sense."

"I need you to promise to keep this a secret. From everybody. Even Ren and Nora."

"Pyrrha..."

"Promise me Jaune." Pyrrha looked... intense. Serious. Jaune nodded his head.

"I promise" Pyrrha sighed and leaned against the wall.

"I was in a meeting with Ozpin, Goodwitch and Ironwood before you found me. They told me that they were part of a group that helped protect the Season's Maidens. The people that inherited the power of the original sisters from the story. They showed me the Fall Maiden in a capsule, unconscious and they told me that she was attacked. They said whoever attacked her took some of her power. They also said that when this Fall Maiden dies, the rest of her power could go to the one who attacked her and that could lead to the end of mankind. They came to me because they want me to become the next Fall Maiden. Ironwood has created a... process to take the aura of the Fall Maiden and put it in my body. But he also told me that the procedure was experimental and that I could lose my soul, or worse, during the transfer."

"Wow. Okay, that's some heavy stuff." She leaned back onto her feet and looked him straight in the eye.

"It's why I chose to tell you. Ever since I've know you, I've known you have a good heart. I figured you could help me in this choice."

"So what you're telling me is that you can either accept, do the aura transfer and possibly become someone else or die and then the world is screwed, or you can refuse and the power could go to the bad guy and then the world is screwed?"

"Yeah. Pretty much." Jaune looked lost for words.

"Pyrrha, what do you expect me to say?" She looked worried now seeing that maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"Tell me what to do Jaune. You have the kindest and warmest soul I've ever seen. You always make the right choice. You always help whenever you can. So please, help me."

"I can't Pyrrha. I don't know what to think. I mean, why does it have to be you? Can't Ozpin pick someone else?"

"Maybe, but they're running out of time. We all are. I need you to tell me what to do."

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"I think I want to go through with it. I mean, my life isn't worth everyone else's. My mind tells me that I should do it." At this point their voices started getting louder.

"What about you? Your life, your friends?"

"I don't think that's enough of a reason to not go through with it."

"It should be. You shouldn't have to give up your life just because Ozpin says so."

"It's not about Ozpin or any of them. It's about the world."

"Why do you have to go?"

"I don't want to go."

"Then why are you saying you want to go through with it?!"

"Because you're not giving me a reason to stay!" She screamed that last sentence before she lowered her head and her voice.

"Give me a reason to stay." Jaune kept finding himself searching furiously through his mind for something to respond.

"How about everyone you've met in this school? Everyone you've helped? Everyone whose lives you touched? They mean something to you. What about the relationships you've built here? With the other students? With team RWBY? What about our team? What do you think is going to happen to JNPR once you're gone?"

"That's... still not enough to warrant risking the world." Jaune once again raised his voice as if to hammer home the point he was trying to make.

"You could die Pyrrha."

"Why do you assume that I will? The procedure could go okay. I might live through this and become the Fall Maiden and everything will be alright."

"You'll still be gone if you become her. You'll be taking her soul into your body."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

"But I'm not!"

"Why?!"

"Because I love you!" And with that they both paused and stared at each other for the longest five seconds they had ever expericenced.

"I love you Pyrrha. I don't want you to go because I don't want you to leave me. Call me selfish but I can't give you up. I can't let you go through with this." Pyrrha walked closer to him, slowly, while keeping her eyes trained on his.

"I don't know what to say. I mean, I love you too and I have for a while now, but..." She lowered her head and hugged him. And her breaths became more shallow. He raised her chin so her green orbs could meet with his blue ones and he saw that they were starting to well up. He moved in closer to her lips and kissed her gently. She kissed him back, not being able to hold onto the tears that came flowing down her gentle face. He separated from her and raised his thumbs up to her cheeks wiping them clean. Still a stray droplet fell from her right eye. She leaned into his touch.

"I don't know what to do Jaune. For the first time in years, I don't know what to do. I'm afraid." He looked solemnly at her and kissed her once more, their lips meeting just as gently as the first time. Once again he separated them and spoke.

"Pyrrha... I can't say I have an answer for you. It's too hard for me to tell you to do it, even though my head is screaming at me to let you go. I understand where you're coming from. I understand the stakes and I even understand your idea that you might make it. Things might go okay. But you have to understand I can't tell you to go through with it. Not yet. My heart won't let me. I love you too much."

"I love you too Jaune. But I can't ignore the world."

"I don't think you should either. But maybe there's another way."

"I don't know if there is." He tightened his grip on her.

"Even if there isn't, just know that I'll be with you to figure things out. I'm your partner. It's my job to look after you. But it's also my job to help you succeed in your missions. So we'll talk about this some more, we'll think properly on this later, when we are not so emotional and we'll reach a decision together. Whatever we end up with, I'll be there, with you." They kissed one last time, a gust of wind blowing her hair in front of their faces. She moved her hair behind her and held onto his hand as they descended back to the school's halls, with an impossible choice to make, but with renewed strength to face it.

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 **And done. I hope you enjoyed the story. It was a little bit more emotion-filled than my usual stuff but I had the idea and I wanted to do it, so I did it. Anyway, this is fan fiction after all, which means it probably won't happen on the show. Still I thought it was interesting. The next thing I'll do will probably be to finish my DCUO stuff and after that we'll see. I might have a plan for the future but for now...**

 **THANKS FOR READING!**


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